Austin Axmann, Equipment Mechanic II

Whether he’s helping a stranded driver on the side of the road or repairing a police vehicle, Austin Axmann, equipment mechanic II with the Lenexa Municipal Services Department, believes a little help can go a long way.

“If I can ever help someone have a better day just by stopping and giving a few minutes of my time, I will,” Austin said.

Helping others isn’t something Austin turns on and off — it’s simply who he is.

“My motivation to help others comes from a place of empathy,” he said. “I have been a stranded driver before and after 30 minutes of sitting on the side of the road someone stopped. He happened to have the tools I needed to get my car moving again just enough to get it home. That time spent sitting on the side of the road, feeling hopeless, it was miserable.”

Today, Austin brings that same mindset to his work with the City of Lenexa. As part of an eight-person fleet maintenance team, he helps maintain and repair nearly 425 city vehicles, including police and fire units, along with more than 250 small-engine tools such as weed-eaters, mowers and chainsaws.

“Everything we do here in the fleet department is so diverse, whether it's repair and maintenance on a variety of vehicles and equipment to having to go out to our fire stations or police department to go help them with a vehicle on site, or even towing and recovery,” Austin said. “Because of the large variety, there's not a monotony, and it doesn't feel like the same day in and day out. That really helps with my work ethic and what I do here because I don't feel as if I'm going into the same routine.”

From tuning up lawn mowers to repairing emergency vehicles, the fleet maintenance team’s work keeps city operations moving every day.

“Knowing that what I do allows for every other department, especially those that face the public, to be able to do their job and be able bring joy or safety or peace of mind to the populace, makes me proud,” he said.

Austin grew up on a family ranch outside Louisburg, Kansas, where his family raised cattle and horses.

“We did some ranching and hay work — what you would expect more of a midwestern ranch than a farm,” he said.

That upbringing sparked his interest in mechanics and equipment at an early age. Working alongside his father repairing farm and heavy equipment laid the foundation for the career he has today.

“When I was a child with my father is what sparked the interest in this because we did this at home with all the farm equipment and the heavy equipment that we repaired so I was with dad in the shop working on things as young as I can really remember,” Austin said. “My initial interest in fleet maintenance was rooted within automotive repair itself. I have always held an interest within the automotive field, which started as a curiosity of how things worked. I wanted to know what made the wheels turn and the engines run. That interest is what brought me into this career field versus other hands-on fields.”

Along with technical skills, ranch life taught him discipline and perseverance.

“The long and short of what I've learned was a work ethic and an understanding of how the world is built, especially off of those who spend long waking days and nights laboring.”

Long days were simply part of life on the ranch.

“My time spent working on the ranch required a lot of time dedication to the tasks at hand to allow for daily operations to continue.”

Before joining the City of Lenexa two years ago, Austin worked for a local towing company performing similar fleet maintenance work. After hearing about an opening with the city, he applied and quickly found the environment he was looking for.

“I wanted to work here because of the benefits as well as the environment,” he said. “There's a lot of good-hearted individuals that work within the city and being surrounded by those people every day is very uplifting.”

While much of his work is done independently, Austin values the teamwork inside the fleet shop.

“We are very much any team aspect of, if you need help, ask,” he said. “Any one of these guys in the shop are more than willing to help. And it's that openness and that willingness to help that has been great to see.”

The work inside the shop changes with the seasons.

“The seasons impact work greatly due to what type of vehicles or equipment are being worked on at that time,” he said. “At the end of the snow season, we start prepping for summer and spring, which means our main focus is parks and recs vehicles and their equipment and mowers and things to make sure that they can start out this season and keep the city looking as beautiful as it does. Toward the fall, their main priority shifts to the snowplows and the snow equipment to make sure those are in as best operational shape for the winter.”

No matter the season, though, one responsibility always comes first.

“The highest priority will always be the police department and the fire department because they're emergency response,” he said.

One project Austin is especially proud of is a custom water tank unit built for the Parks and Recreation Department. The project required extensive fabrication and problem-solving because the equipment arrived as little more than a bare frame and water tank.

“Everything else was in the open on the design and how it needed to be put together,” he said. “So that's been fulfilling in a way because it allows some sort of creativity to be out there.”

One of Austin’s most memorable experiences on the job came while assisting the Police Department with maintenance on its training vehicles. The fleet team traveled to the training site while officers were conducting Pursuit Intervention Technique (PIT) maneuver exercises.

“And they asked, ‘Do you want to drive?’” Austin said. “Yes. Of course I would.”

With permission from the training officers, Austin had the chance to both ride in a vehicle during a PIT maneuver and perform one himself.

“It’s thrilling and not an opportunity that a lot of people get to have,” he said. “It’s quite fun.”

Austin says the city has also invested in him professionally by supporting continued education and certifications.

“The city has put energy, money and time into me to expand my knowledge,” Austin said. “The willingness to help me further my own education, my own knowledge — I'm very grateful for because I had several dead-end jobs before where you're there, you do this, but they don’t help you any other way. These certifications are useful outside of the city. But they also make me more valuable because now I have a broader understanding of each of these pieces of equipment or trucks or vehicles that I'm dealing with.”

For those interested in fleet maintenance work, Austin believes attitude matters more than experience.

“We don't require the most knowledgeable,” he said. “We don't require the more skilled. But if you're willing to learn and you have a desire, we'll train you. We look for people who have the willingness to learn and the understanding that failing is not a problem, but a moment of being able to be taught and to be used as a teaching tool.”

Outside of work, Austin describes himself as a self-proclaimed nerd who enjoys Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering and a variety of tabletop games. He lives in Raytown, Missouri, with his wife.

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Published May 26, 2026